Trevor Hadley from Ted Grosch's 'Quantum Level Zero'

We’re thrilled to be talking to Trevor Hadley from Ted Grosch’s, Quantum Level Zero.  It is a pleasure to have him with us today at Pimp That Character!

Thank you for your interview, Trevor.  How old are you and what do you do for a living?

I am 34 years old and I was a physicist. Actually, I was a physics grad student for Eli Baracki, you know, the one they called the Angry Afghan? He quit the profession about a year after a suicide bomber killed his family. That’s how he got the nickname. When he left M.I.T., I finished up my doctorate and did my own thing.

Can you tell us about one of your most distinguishable features?

I would say it’s my dark blue eyes. Brown is their natural color. I wear blue contacts and a beard as a disguise because I’m wanted by the Supreme Scientific Counsel and the United Nations Security Force. I did something rash. I discovered a new and powerful energy source. The powers that be wanted it, so I set my lab to self-destruct when soldiers came to take it all. Luckily, everyone got out, but it left a big hole in the ground and a lot of embarrassed people on The Council.

What would I love the most about you?

I’m the smartest guy I know, except for Eli, and I’m modest.

What would I hate the most about you?

I’m impulsive. Blowing up my lab is one example where I could have made a more sane choice.

Where do you go when you are angry?

I go to my brother Cameron’s cabin in the Pocono mountains. He’s been living out there since he lost an eye in the Jersey Riots.

What makes you laugh out loud?

I often laugh at my own outrageous ideas. Cam makes me laugh just because he is so different from me and down to earth.

What is in your refrigerator right now?

I have a half a fish wrapped in newspapers and a couple heads of cabbage Old Man Thomas gave me. He knows I can’t grow anything for myself because I’m hardly ever home.

What is your most treasured possession?

It’s my formula for making the plasmon metamaterial that is essential for extracting energy from the quantum vacuum, the so-called zero-point-fields.

What is your greatest fear?

It used to be losing my job. Now I fear being shoved out of an airlock without a helmet.

What is the trait you most not like about yourself?

I always wanted to be bigger, like my brother Cam. I’m below average height and pretty thin, even compared to the other starving survivors I know. Cam is a big man, big enough to get picked on in public because other men want to show how tough they are.

Do you think the author portrayed you accurately?

No. I have a softer side. I loved watching old black and while moves on TV, when there was TV.

What is your idea of a perfect day?

The perfect day is to start with a breakfast of venison hash, eggs, and real coffee at Cam’s cabin. Then we’d sit on the front porch and watch the fish jump in Silver Lake.  Later, maybe walk down to Dingman Falls and listen to the roar of the water or we’d go fishing and catch our supper.

What are three must haves when shopping at the grocery store?

Grocery store? I remember those. Food as far as you could see. I would get milk, breakfast cereal, and corn on the cob. Three of the main food groups.

I’m opening up your cabinet.  What foods do I see?

Caned soup and kippered herring. The soup comes in handy for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The kipper snacks have been in there since Cam moved out. I hate kippered herring.

Are you a loner or do you prefer to surround yourself with friends?

I’m a loner and I’m even more alone now that I’m on the lam. I landed a job working for Eli, but all of his people are secretive and wanted by the authorities for one reason or another. Few people talk much there, maybe they are more like Eli the Iceman than they know.

Who is your best friend?

Of course, my brother. He’s my only friend. I was getting friendly with Cara, who works for Eli, but our assignments have kept us at different facilities and departments. She’s head of AI and I’m just some goof ball who blew up my own lab.

Do you have children?

I don’t have children.

What is your favorite weather?

I like those spring snows we get in upstate New York. It’s above freezing at the ground, but the flakes form higher up and float down, getting more damp and heavy as they go.

Do you like to cook?  If so, what is your favorite thing to cook?

I love to cook. I know 400 ways of making fish, but my favorite thing to make is French toast. With homemade bread and a touch of sassafras. My mother made it with a touch of vanilla, but you can’t get that now days.

If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would you do today?

I would publish my formula for the metamateral for everyone to have. It’s the only way we’re going to win our freedom back. 

About the Author: 

 

Ted Grosch is an American science fiction the author of the novel Quantum Level Zero and other published short stories. Ted has a Ph.D. and teaches electrical engineering. He has published over 25 works of fiction and non-fiction. He lives in Georgia where he works with wood and trains dogs.

For More Information

• Visit Ted Grosch’s website.
• Connect with Ted on Facebook and Twitter.
• Find out more about Ted at Goodreads.
• Visit Ted’s blog.

About the Book:

Title: Quantum Level Zero
Author: Ted Grosch
Publisher: Double Dragon eBooks
Pages: 287
Genre: SciFi
Format: Kindle/Nook

Winston Churchill stated that history is written by the victors. Germany terrorized Britain's civilian population with V1 and V2 rockets. The Nazi historians would have a legitimate rational for that had they won the war. Quantum Level Zero takes place in a dystopian society of the near future Earth, where fanatics are about to win the war on terror for the good for the people and the good of society.

Their leader, Matteen Al-Rama has outgrown his fanatical roots. Once an ambassador and secretary General of the United Nations, he now leads a fundamentalist revolution that uses cloud computing, holographic CGI recruitment rallies, computer worms, rootkits and Trojans, advanced communications, and cybernetic enhancements to spread apocalyptic chaos across the globe. If that weren't enough, rumor of an alien race wanting to begin diplomatic relations with Earth threatens to solidify Al-Rama's global stranglehold.

Quantum Level Zero follows three people at the pivot point in the war on terror, one who has knowledge, one who has great need, and one who has the courage to make a difference. Elijah Baraki is a scientist and former official of Al-Rama's revolution. Eight years ago he lost his wife and three children in a suicide bombing meant to show the world that nobody leaves Al-Rama's organization. Since that bombing, Eli has concentrated on research and radial technology with the intention to wage war on the revolutionaries. In a world where reasonable people become dissidents, Eli is joined by two-hundred other scientists, engineers and soldiers, all of whom have their own reasons to leave their former lives and battle the growing chaos.

Trevor Hadley sabotaged his own laboratory to prevent the authorities from confiscating his zero-point energy research. Now wanted as a terrorist, Trevor has been working on Eli's secret project for the past few years as a lab assistant. Eli sends him to reconnoiter an Al-Rama outpost and is almost killed. He teams up with his brother, Eli's former boss, and Sharon Murphy, a former army helicopter pilot also on the run, in a race to report back to Eli and join the fight to free Earth.

Forces of reason have the edge in the war, but will that remain the case if First Contact goes to the revolutionaries? Quantum Level Zero opens as the world awaits the arrival of Al-Rama's latest ally, an advanced alien race offering anti-gravity, zero-point energy, and faster-than-light travel. Al-Rama won't be satisfied with anything less than world domination. Eli won't be satisfied with anything less than total destruction of Al-Rama's empire.

For More Information

• Quantum Level Zero is available at Amazon.
• Pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble.
• Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.
• Read prologue here.